Ace Triple Threat Gang
by Live.N.Love
Summary: The Ace Gang are the elite leaders of East High and are feared by all. Gabriella's been a nerd since freshman year.When she gets a makeover, it makes her very desireable. A story about being who you really are and loving like you've never been hurt. TXG
1. Trailer

The Ace Triple Threat Gang rule the school

**The Ace Triple Threat Gang rule the school**

_shows the hallways parting for Gang_

**Gabriella Montez has always been known as one of the biggest nerds in school, since freshman year**

_shows football players shoving her against the lockers as they walk by_

What happens when Gabriella gets a new look?

_shows makeover host walking across the parking lot_

And she comes back to a very interesting surprise

"_My spot!" Allie cried._

Now, the Ace Gang want her.

"_Gabriella Montez! That's who we need!" Sharpay exclaimed._

How far will it go?

_Shows Gabi stripping down_

Will it break her?

_Shows Gabi crying_

Or give her everything she ever wanted?

_Shows Troy leaning in to Gabi_

**The Ace Triple Threat Gang**

**Coming to a computer screen near you….**


	2. Balcony Conversations

Here's the first chapter, I'm going to try to get at least another update before the weekend, but if not I'll be back during the weekend

**Here's the first chapter, I'm going to try to get at least another update before the weekend, but if not I'll be back during the weekend! ******

**Disclaimer- If only…….**

**Ch.1-Balcony Conversations**

**GABRIELLA Montez** sighed loudly as she turned off her alarm and put on her big, thick brown-framed glasses. She got out of the bed and slummed over to her closet, pulling on a white t-shirt, overalls and tennis shoes. She didn't apply make-up very much anymore, so she bundled her sea of curls with an elastic hair tie.

Grabbing her backpack, she headed for the silent kitchen downstairs.

Her mom was constantly gone on business trips, so having the house to herself was not out of the ordinary. As she made a bowl of cereal, she gazed out to the field of green grass where her 10 horses were grazing quietly. What her mom lost in human contact and mothering, she tried to fill with her enormous gifts and obscene amounts of money. Gabi had in 2 years received 2 credit cards, which were both for whatever she needed or desired. Most children would thrive on the fact that they could wildly spend money and their parents could care less, but with hardly any friends to speak of, the cards held little use except for her survival.

However, the ridicule of the other students often drove her to a couple of quarts of Ben and Jerry's, which proceeded to a 5 hour dance overload or an extremely long horse ride/ training session. What intrigued her though was basketball. The whole concept of how all the men and women could calculate complicated plays, plan their whole year around a single sport, yet it was barely possible for them to divide 12 by 6. There was also a group called the Ace Triple Threat Gang that puzzled, even, her mind. This group of leaders in East High wasn't mean, kept a decent GPA, and thrived in sports.

She was the same way, but that was unknown to anyone but her close friends that lived far away and relatives that came to performances. The Ace Gang included Sharpay and Ryan Evans, co-presidents of the Drama Club, Taylor McKessie, president of the Scholastic Decathlon team, Kelsi Neilson, head of the student music department and a Drama Club member, Zeke Baylor, head of the Cooking Club and a varsity basketball player, Martha Cox, Head Annual Staff Member and a Drama Club member, Jason Cross, Soccer Captain and varsity basketball player, and finally the leader of the Gang and of East High, Troy Bolton, Varsity Basketball Captain and son of the Athletic Director, Mr. Jack Bolton.

Gabriella shook her head, taking one last bite of cereal, before pouncing for the door. She locked the door behind her and hopped into the front seat of her '96 Toyota Camry. She revved up the engine and span off in the direction of the school. The clock just turned to 8:46 a.m. when Gabi's engine settled to a complete stop in the student parking lot. With bag in hand, her mind was elsewhere when a basketball rolled to her feet. Single-handed, she gripped the ball, glancing around for its owner. When the entire Ace Triple Threat Gang was staring holes in her brain, she realized it was Troy Toy's basketball. Slowly, she walked over to the group of teenagers,

"Excuse me, is this one of yours?" She asked, timidly. The group stood silent a second, this was a treat for them, since hardly anyone ever spoke to them, out of plain fear.

"That's mine, Thanks! So, what's your name?" Troy stated, taking the ball from her grasp.

"I'm Gabriella, Gabriella Montez."

Troy stuck out a hand, which she returned and they shook slowly, "Nice to meet you Gabi."

The warning bell rang for them to head to class, "The pleasures all mine." She stated and walked off.

The day had passed swiftly for Gabi, and before she knew it, lunch had arrived. When a pair of doors she didn't recognize crossed her path, she began to feel adventurous and opened them. The dark stairwells lead out to a beautiful rooftop garden overlooking downtown Albuquerque. She sat down on the small wooden bench near the end of the roof to eat her lunch in the peaceful breeze. A bird's song filled the air and the sunny rays were smiling on Gabriella when the slam of the doors below shook her world. Pit-pat of feet and in front of us stood none other than Troy Bolton.

"We meet again Gabi Montez." He smirked

"Oh…do you want me to leave? I had no idea this was your spot to have lunch!" She stood up flustered.

"Chill…ok? We can just eat together, unless you think I have cooties." He smiled at her and they both sat down.

A very awkward silence followed as they both munched through their lunches.

"So are you into any sports?" Troy asked, trying to break this silence.

"Not in school." Gabriella shyly replied.

"What do you do OUT of school then, Ms. Mysterious?" He couldn't help himself.

" I ride horses, take dance and gym and play some basketball." She practically whispered the last part.

"Basketball…hmm…never saw that one coming."

"Well, no one wants to see much of me at all." She sadly looked away.

" I do." She turned to him, and they stared at each other for several seconds until the bell rang, but neither one moves.

" I have free period." They stated in unison and began to laugh.

During the period, the two talked about everything that popped into their minds. The two were really beginning to become great friends and it was only a single hour. Gabi loved the way Troy's eyes turned different shades of blues, but were mainly a happy ocean blue.

Troy couldn't believe how beautiful Gabi was when she laughed! The way her head fell back and her eyes sparkled with joy.

When the bell rang for them to leave, the couple was thinking about only one thing. Each other.


	3. A New Gabriella

Here's the next chapter

Here's the next chapter. .late as always, so sorry : (

DISCLAIMER: I would be in Utah right now if I owned HSM!

**Ch.2- A New Gabriella**

**GABRIELLA **smiled to herself as the final bell rang, dismissing the entire student body for the day. With a spring in her step, she made her way out to the student parking lot. As she reminisced on the days events, she realized how great the day had gone. The calculus test had proven to be easy and she was positive she made an A+ on it. Gabi's smile grew when she thought about how she had ate lunch with Troy Bolton, and they exchanged phone numbers. He had promised to help her with her basketball some time and she was all too happy to accept the offer. In the distance, she saw her little white Camry still sitting in its spot.

"Excuse me?" A young woman of about 28 called out from behind her. Gabriella turned around and saw a camera crew following a few feet behind the woman.

"Yes?" Gabriella asked with a dumb-founded look.

"Your Gabriella Montez right?" The woman asked and Gabriella confirmed her query.

"I am, who are YOU?" She asked the woman with a slight annoyed attitude, she wanted to get home!

"My name's Sarah and I host Mission: Hollywood, who has chosen you as their next candidate for a complete makeover!" Sarah exclaimed slightly excited, as any host would be.

The camera crew and host had attracted the attention of many of the students, including the Ace Gang. They all had gathered in a circle around Gab and the crew.

"I'd love to, but I have school! I can't just run off to Hollywood!" She was dieing inside right now, a makeover was one thing she'd really like right now.

"School is all taken care of Hun! We talked with the principal; he's even going to call an assembly in your honor." Sarah smiled at Gabi's growing grin.

"I'm in!" She exclaimed. She was so ready for the old Gabi to be back and she was sure these people could help her.

So, everyone watched as 'Geeky Gabi' rode away in limo, heading for Hollywood, California. A silence overtook the crowd until…

"GO HOME! GET OUT OF HERE!" Chad bellowed to everyone, who obeyed and proceeded to go home.

Troy stood deathly still as the rest of the Ace Gang began the road home. Gabi was getting a makeover? He questioned in his mind. This was all happening soo fast, one minute she's here the next gone.

"TROY!" Zeke yells and pulls him out of his revere. He sprints up and falls into step with his friends.

"So, Gabriella Montez gets a makeover. That's crazy!" Taylor thought out loud.

"What do you think she'll look like when she gets back?" Martha asks.

"Gorgeous" Jason simply stated, and Troy felt his fist ball up a little. He shook his head, Gabi wasn't his property so there was nothing wrong with guys thinking about her. Heck! He'd only been talking with her for a small period of time.

"Did you all know Allie was leaving?" Kelsi asked the group, who's attention was now fully focused on her.

"No way! Who will we pick for a replacement??" Shar queried.

"Gabriella Montez" Troy stated smoothly, just asking someone to question his authority. Troy may be a nice guy, loving considerate, but he liked being in charge and no one ever messed with his authority. No usually that is…

"Dude…is she a cheerleader?" Chad had been Troy's best friend since K-4, he was the only qualified one to ask this.

"She has been a state champion 2 years in a row, I think she's qualified." He spit at him like it was venom.

"Didn't see that one coming!" Ryan exclaimed, fixing his maroon hat.

" She's also a top national horse rider and plays basketball to stay fit." Troy proudly announced.

"Ladies and Gentleman, we have a walking Gabriella Montez life-story right here!" Jason exclaimed, waving a hand at Troy.

"Shut-up Jason!" Troy huffed and walked ahead. The Gang exchanged glances….Was trouble brewing??

**Assembly Day, On the Way**

After receiving an entire body and wardrobe makeover, along with some self-defense lessons and a new 2009 Porsche, Gabi was ready to make her debut.

"Ok girl, how ya feelin'?" Sarah ,the host, asked.

"Like a million bucks!" Gabi chimed and fiddled with her newly-manicured nails.

"Don't worry, they'll adore you!" Sarah reassured.

"We're here ladies." The driver stated as the car came to a stop and the door opened. At it's opening was Principal Matsui and head cheerleader, Allie, who hated Gabriella.

"Welcome back, Ms. Montez!" The principal welcomed.

"It's good to be back!" She smiled outwards

"Ms. Fletcher asked to speak with you before the assembly, so I'll leave you two." He stated and left with Sarah for the gym.

"Gabriella, I was a horrible person to you, we all were. We didn't consider your feelings and I was jealous because I did know about your national ranking. I'm sorry and I hope you'll accept my apology." Allie looked solemnly up at Gabriella.

"Apology accepted." She smiled at the cheerleader.

"I have something for you, but we better get you in there first!" Allie drug a very skeptical looking Gabi into the gym.

As you walked in, you could hear Mr. Matsui introducing Gab, " Ms. Montez has just arrived and is looking stunning if I say so. Please give a warm welcome to the transformed, Miss Gabriella Montez!"

Allie pushed Gabi towards the curtain, where she walked out into a large, white spotlight.

Dressed in a white strapless dress and red peep toe pumps, she stood 3 inches taller. Her glasses had vanished and her smile could have been seen on Jupiter. Her soft curls fell bare on her shoulders and the spotlight made her natural makeup and caramel highlights sparkle.

"Thanks for that kind welcome Mr. Matsui, and thank you all for coming out today. I've had an amazing experience and would like to also thank Mission: Hollywood for helping me get to where I am now. I'm also looking for a date, so call me!" She flashed a smile to the crowd as Allie came up to the mic.

"Give Gabriella an applause for looking this great!" The room almost burst with the amount of noise it was experiencing. Allie finally got the crowd to settle into a soft silence. "I have a gift for Gabriella, which I need someone to bring on stage. A cricket was heard in the background as the crowd as everyone waited for her surprise. In that moment, Troy walked out carrying a large white box. His eyes were as wide as saucers as he handed the box to her and kissed her cheek. Opening the box, she realized what it was.

"My spot as head cheerleader!" Allie called to the crowd as she beamed over at Gabriella. Gabi started to cry and the two girls joined in an embrace. As they broke apart, they exited the stage but Gabi felt someone pull her near.

"My house, 6 tonight" Troy breathed huskily in her ear.

Tonight would be interesting………….


	4. Opportunities

_**I can see…thanks to a very helpful person and friend of mine… that I've been rushing this story along. I'm going to slow down a bit and try to give you a better story.This may be my last update for a couple of weeks, so thank you soo much again! I'll be back soon!!** __**In this chapter, I'm also starting to insert some characters that will be very important later on. **_

_**Please be patient as I try to get my thoughts all together.**_

**Disclaimer: I do not own HSM or One Tree Hill. They all go to their rightful owners.**

**PS- Several characters are from the CW's TV show, One Tree Hill. The main one from that show in this chapter is Lucas Scott played by Chad Michael Murray. That's who you should picture the character as.**

* * *

**Ch.3- Opportunities **

As Troy watched all his friends gather for their meeting, he thought back to his luckiest day of freshman year…

_(Flashback)_

_Freshman Troy Bolton needed to scream, jump up and down and make other strange and very crazy noises. His face was red and his eyes were like massive saucers as he read the list for the boy's varsity basketball team. _

_He had made it. _

_He was a freshman and he made it!_

_His neighbor, close friend and now the guy he would call 'Captain', Senior Tyler Bradshaw came up and slung an arm around his shoulder, "So Troy ma man…you made it I see. I actually knew that but the look on your face says you didn't." He smiled down at the still aw-struck Troy._

"_No, I had no clue! This is so amazing Tyler! I'll get to travel with you guys and everything! I mean…holy cow I can't believe this is happening!!" Troy's over-excited feelings made Tyler smile even wider._

"_Well…I'm about to make you even happier. If that's possible, I'm still debating. Come on Bolton, we have some business to attend to." Tyler put on a firm face and walked down the long hallway filled with students. Once he was at the end of the hallway, he started walking towards a pair of doors. Troy followed close behind, clutching his backpack strap so tight, it looked like he might faint._

_The doors led to several stairs which brought you to the amazing rooftop garden. _

_Gathered in the rooftop garden were Troy's best friend Chad, Sharpay and Ryan._

"_Okay, so you all are curious as to what you're doing here I'm sure?"_

_They all nodded their heads in agreement. _

"_I brought you here to offer you four the chance to make your life at East High worthwhile and very enjoyable. I'm guessing since you've been at East High for a number of months, you know that myself along with quite a few of my friends are in the top social group of the school AKA the Ace Triple Threat Gang. The Ace Triple Threat Gang is a group who fights for what's right, keeps a cool and level head at all times, provides an example for the student body to follow. You don't bully anyone nor do you gossip especially about things that don't affect you. You have to keep a hands-off expression to nearly everyone besides your fellow members or teammates, just for the simple reason that they will try to take advantage of you. _

_Now we have a list that you need to complete, but since we can't have it looking suspicious you will each be given 5 different tasks. This isn't meant to humiliate you, just to see how you deal with the pressure of being different and being the center of attention for a great deal of the time._

_So…are you four ready to begin your future?"_

_They were all shocked but nodded anyway._

"_Okay…go on to class. We__'ll be giving you your lists soon." Tyler smiled as he watched his four new protégés disappear down the stairs._

Right before Tyler graduated, he had deemed Troy, 'Leader' and he had struggled to keep in control at all times ever since. Troy shook his head to get all his scattered thoughts together. Once everyone settled down, it was time for the meeting to begin.

"Ace Triple Threat Gang meeting is now in session!" Troy bellowed across his living room to the entire crew covering the couches.

"On our agenda today…" Kelsi began to ramble on about security for the winter dance next month and such.

Troy's mind, however, was set on the gorgeous girl who he had invited over tonight. She reminded him of an earthly goddess with a heavenly glow about her. She hadn't been shy at all, which was probably what surprised him the most. He knew she was attractive but he didn't know she could just put herself out there like that. He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. Why was he all of a sudden thinking about this girl he hardly knew? She might be trying to use him for all he knew. How could he trust her??

"So does anyone have anything else to put in?" Kels questioned the gang, who mostly shrugged in response except its pink-est member.

"I think we should get a new member!" Sharpay called out causing Troy to nearly jump out of his skin since he had been zoned out, still contemplating about a certain brunette that had been overpowering his thoughts the past few days.

"Who?" He demanded that authority he was known so well for etching its way to the surface.

"Gabriella Montez!" Shar stated her reply in an obvious 'DUH' tone.

"She's definitely a great candidate. She's the head cheerleader with some brains… it's East High HISTORY!" Tay exclaimed.

"She has to go through the same kind of test we all went through to join." From his words, you could tell Chad wasn't about to let Gabriella waltz in and be a new Ace Member without going through some sort of challenge.

"Ok…so all those in favor of recruiting Gabriella Montez as a new member, raise your right hand and say 'I'" Shar stated as the whole group raised their hands and said 'I'.

"So Troy will approach her ASAP."

**DING DONG!**

Troy looked down at his watch and swore under his breath.

"I have a visitor so meeting adjourned!" He raced to the door to meet Gabi, dressed in blue jeans, a 'Wildcats' sweatshirt and Nikes.

"Hey…" He stated softly, leaning against the door frame.

"Hi…" She replied in the same tone, clasping her hands together.

"So…you must be curious why I asked you to come over." Troy gazed over at her, to see her eyes steadily watching him with, what it seemed to be, X-ray vision. He felt like she was seeing into his soul without him uttering a word, which unnerved him to no end.

"Yea…I'm pretty curious why East High's golden boy wanted me to come over to his house. If you say that I have to sleep with you, I will slap you though." She kept a very serious face, but her eyes were twinkling with amusement and playfulness.

"I promise I won't make you sleep with me…yet." They both laughed.

"Okay…deal. So…can I come in and you can explain to me the purpose of this visit?"

"Oh yeah…" He got off the doorframe, opening the door wider.

She walked in, "Your house is really hard to find, you know that right? I used Map Quest and it still took me 30 minutes!"

"It's not THAT bad! I mean, it's only 2 right turns then a left then another right then 2 more lefts if you're coming from the highway!" She wore this 'you're-an-idiot-that's-hard' look as he spoke. "Okay, you're right."

She smiled, "So…do I get a grand tour of your house or do you plan for us to stand by the door the whole time?"

"Actually, the whole Ace Gang is in the living room. We just finished our meeting and they didn't know you were coming. We all have something to tell you, so let's go in there." Troy motioned to follow him and led her into the living room, where the Gang was sitting around talking and laughing with each other.

"Guys…you remember Gabriella right?" Troy questioned all his friends.

"Yeah we do. So TROY, you have something to tell her don't you?" Shar questioned him, she didn't understand why Gabriella was here, but she wasn't about to miss this perfect opportunity.

Troy gave Shar an evil glare then turned to Gabi, "Well as you know, we are all in the highest social group of East High also known as the Ace Triple Threat Gang. We have approached people before, but normally they don't have what it takes to make it as a member. You have to handle pressure well, choose to do the good thing, and always have other people's best interest at heart. Gabriella, we think you have great potential so that's why we would like for you to become our newest Ace Triple Threat Gang member.

To join, you must complete a series of tasks and agree to follow our rules, codes and honor the pure goodness that comes with the Ace name.

You will be forever changed if you can prove you have what it takes to be an Ace. You will be treated with honor and respect. Your word is law, just like the rest of us.

So…what do you say? Are you ready for this responsibility?" Troy finished his speech and sat back to watch Gabriella.

This would be the most amazing opportunity of her social high school career, she thought to herself. It would be an extraordinary way to help people and let her have some feeling of having a place. She knew the tasks would probably be humiliating and the pressure unbearable. In the end, it would be oh so worth it to have that satisfactory feeling of friends and well… a life. She could still remember what everyday life had been like before…

_(Flashback)_

_Gabriella had just gotten a new pair of thick, brown glasses that she had to have to be able to see. Her eyesight was horrible, that's why the glasses always had to be so thick and ugly._

_She had just opened up her locker to grab her books when her glasses fell onto the tip of her nose, making her look like a granny from the movies. Her arms were full, so she just tilted her head back where they were suppose to fall into place, however when she tilted her head back, Allie the head cheerleader snatched them off her face._

"_New glasses Geeky Gabi? When are you just going to give it up? Once ugly, always ugly." Allie sneered evilly at Gabriella, who could hear her perfectly but could see nothing but lots of blurry images. Allie, with her fine manicured nails, scratched Gabi's cheek o-so slowly, making it sting in pain and barely draw blood to the surface._

_She cackled with delight seeing Gabriella scrunch her face up in pain. She grabbed a fist of the now-shaking brunette's hair and whispered into her ear,_

"_You take my title, I take away everything. I worked six-years in gymnastics just to qualify for state then you had to come along and steal all my glory. I don't think so geek." Allie pulled away and slammed Gabi's head into the locker beside Gabi's open one with a loud THUMP! _

"_Ace Alert Allie!" One of her minions spoke in a loud whisper._

"_Go fetch Geek!" She chunked the glasses down the hallway and into one of the water fountains before sauntering away with her little posse following close behind._

_Minutes later, the Ace Gang walked by and didn't even see Gabriella Montez crying with her head in her locker, staring at her new, now broken glasses._

_(End Flashback)_

"I'll do it. I want to be a member." She got a determined look on her face.

"So…you don't tell anybody that we are trying to recruit you, clear? It is to be totally unknown unless you make it through all your tasks and we have the 'initiation' party." Tay drilled her for one reason. If anyone knew that they were approaching Gabi, East High would go crazy! This kind of gossip is what literally made the kids run and scream through the halls, spreading the word.

"What's the initiation party?" Gab fired back.

"If we get a new member, we invite back all the old Ace Members from the founding fathers on 'til the group before us. We all get together and swear you in to be a 'permanent' member for life. Most of the old members who live around here come and several of those who go to school a couple of hours away. It's supervised and is really a blast. Each member receives one of these." He held out his right hand that held two rings, one was his class ring and the other was a silver ring with a triangular sapphire-colored stone in the center, and as he turned it sideways you could see a small 'Chad' on the right side and an ATTG on the left. "These rings mean so much to all of us. It's actually required we wear them at all times. So…the party is really like your welcoming party. The last one we had was when we initiated Martha." Chad explained as Martha smiled, you could tell she was remembering the party.

Gabi smiled, thought for a second and spoke again. "So…where's this list of things I have to complete?"

Kelsi handed over a thin blue binder she had been hugging close to her body like blanket. Gabriella opened it up to reveal a rather long list of codes, rules and regulations. She flipped the page to see 5 tasks.

"These?" She pointed to the page as Troy nodded. She set the notebook down after memorizing her tasks. Her hands fell into her lap as she studied each face, trying to soak in all that was happening to her in less than a week.

"So…are you ready?" Zeke asked, as he pulled Shar closer since he had just finished reminiscing of his initiation, which is where each couple had gotten together. It seemed to be an almost unspoken tradition.

"As I'll ever be. I really have to get home since it's kind of late. I'll start on this task list tomorrow. " Gabriella stood to leave. The gang waved and said their quick 'Byes' before turning back to start more conversations.

"I'll walk you." Troy stood up as they both proceeded to exit.

Gabi put one hand on the doorknob, "Thanks so much for this Troy. You don't know how much this is going to improve my life."

He smiled his boyish grin, "Honey, I've only begun improving your life."

She giggled and opened the door, "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah…I'll be the hot one in red." He smirked as she rolled her eyes and took a step out.

"I'll be the hottest girl with all the guys drooling behind me." She puckered up at him like she was trying to kiss him, smiled, closed the door, and walked out to her car.

**Later that Night- With Gabi**

Gabi had her routine down to a science. She came inside, turned on nearly all the lights, and turned the TV on. After she did all this to make herself feel secure, she would head to the kitchen to fix some sort of dinner which she would eat while talking with her old best friend Lucas.

Gabriella hadn't always lived in Albuquerque, you see. She had lived in a small town called Tree Hill, which is where she met and befriended Lucas. Gabriella had moved just before freshman year and had been at East High ever since. She talked to Lucas daily, making sure he was okay and he could always tell when something was up. Through the ups, the downs, the highs, the lows and everything in-between, Lucas had been there. Nothing more than being the closest of friends had ever happened between them and that's the way it would always be.

Lucas was always on the basketball team back in Tree Hill, which is how Gabi learned to play basketball. They would stay for hours at the River Courts, just shooting and talking about life or having some very bad game of one-on-one.

She could still remember one late summer evening when Lucas had been her guardian angel….

_(Flashback)_

_The streetlights had been on for about 30 minutes as Gabi just sat on the picnic bench at the River Courts. She had been thinking about Lucas's latest run-in with his cruel half-brother Nathan and his followers. She was so stuck in thought she didn't hear anyone walk up._

"_Little Montez has no friends eh?" _

_Gabriella's head shot up to see Dan Scott, Lucas and Nathan's father, walking towards her. Dan was an evil man, leaving Karen before Lucas was born, never being any kind of father to Lucas, and just making the whole population of Tree Hill hate him._

"_I have plenty of friends! I just come here to think. Why don't you just go away Dan? Go shack up some woman and leave her, your good at that." Gab fired at him. She hated him with a passion for how cruel he had been to her best friend._

"_You know Montez, your dad never learned to respect me and neither have you. You might want to learn from his mistake, you see how that ended." He sneered at her, advancing with slow steps._

"_You evil man, why don't you take your worthless self somewhere else so you don't contaminate this entire city with your ugly face?" Gabriella normally wasn't disrespectful to adults, but she didn't consider Dan a human being, much less an adult she should respect._

"_Okay little girl, I'll make you hurt so bad you'll…" She cut him off._

"_Do what? Get you arrested for assault?" He took the final step that put her into arms reach and slapped her across the face._

"_Tell me how bad I am now?" _

"_LEAVE HER ALONE!" Lucas came sprinting towards the two, holding a knife in his hand._

_Dan put both hands up and started to retreat, "Miss Montez, I'll finish my talk with you soon." He walked to his car and drove off into the night._

"_Are you okay?__" His eyes gazed down with severe concern for her well-being._

"_I'm fine Luc, I'm just so glad you came." She pulled him into a big hug, thankful for such an amazing friend._

_(End of Flashback)_

He had always been her guardian angel and she felt that he always would be.

Gabriella's favorite thing about summer was her two months in Tree Hill. Ever summer since she moved, Luc's mom had agreed to let Gab stay with them and let her visit with Luc and all her other friends from Tree Hill. They would laugh, reminisce, party, work, play and just be with each other. Luc's mom had been so kind all of these years for the simple reason that she loved Gab and felt so bad for her since she basically was raising herself. She would always give her that motherly attention she was dying for.

Lucas and Gabi have been through it all, you can tell that for a fact!

So…after her encounter at Troy's house, Gab had come home to relax a bit before bed. She proceeded with her normal routine of turning on all the lights and flipping the TV on to Lifetime Movie Network.

From there, she went upstairs and took a quick shower, changing into her normal house attire of sweats and a tank top. Dinner consisted of a turkey sandwich, chips and a coke, which she took to the living room and sat down in the old Lazy Boy recliner her grandfather had given her in his will.

She whipped out her new Blackberry, courtesy of her mother, and called her favorite number.

"Hello?"

"Hey Luc…watcha doing?" She took a bite of her sandwich and waited for a reply.

"Nothing much Gabbers, just trying to write a little before bed. You eating dinner?" Luc's deep voice soothed Gabriella's fears that she always had when she was alone.

"Like always. Tonight is a turkey sandwich, chips and coke. I didn't feel like actually cooking tonight." She munched on her chips as he began to speak again.

"I thought you liked to cook…What's going on that you're not telling me?" Luc could read her so easily; it was like she was an open book for him.

"Well…." She proceeded to explain the whole auditorium incident, her new cheerleader spot, and everything that happened at Troy's house including what she had to do for the Ace Gang. She was completely finished eating by the time she had all of this explained to Luc and was rinsing her plate off.

"So now I've got to start that crazy list tomorrow." She walked back into the living room and lay down of her long brown sofa.

"Wow…that's awesome Gabs! You'll have all these people falling at your feet and you can tell me what if feels like. Nathan has told me a little bit, since we've been acting like brothers for Haley. I actually like the guy!"

"I never thought that you would be acting like Nathan was your brother, that's for sure! I guess that other best friend of yours is pretty great for something after all!" Haley was Lucas's best friend still in Tree Hill and Gabi had always liked her, but been slightly jealous because she could be with Luc all the time.

"Yeah, she's brought us together. So…are you interested in this Troy guy? You sound like you might be crushing on him." He snickered as he folded his arms behind his head, the phone wedged between his bony shoulder and his ear.

"Luc!" She screeched. "I barely know him!" Her face was flushed; thankfully Lucas couldn't see her through the phone.

"Just checking! Anyways…" He trailed off onto his daily events as Gabi smiled, glad to have her best friend there for her.

* * *

** Please R&R!! XOXO-Savannah  
**


End file.
